this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Originally Posted by |Mitch|
Have you turned yourself into a Falcon hater?
It was a joke. Thats all I hear from Falcons fans since we got Lofton....

He's smart and he has good technique. He's usually in the right position. When the play comes to him, he has a pretty good tackling percentage. He's also supposed to be a great "team" guy. He does what ever he's asked and is always supportive to his team mates and the team.

His down side, which we all see all the time, is that he's not fast enough to chase down a play and not good in coverage. He's not quick enough getting off a block. And he's undersized so many linemen simply overpower him.

I am not going to go into this to much because it's late but...
This was in a thread I made weeks ago.

"Position: Outside Linebacker

The Players: Scott Shanle and Chris Chamberlain

The Battle: Itís fair to say that Gregg Williamsí defensive schemes have never really helped out his linebackers. In addition to whatever bounty-related mess he has got them into, his hyper-aggressive calls always led to linebackers being asked to do things they never had a prayer of successfully achieving. That being said, Iím not sure Scott Shanle would have come out of the past few seasons in any scheme looking good. His -14.0 grade from 2011 represented the fourth consecutive time he scored in negative double-digits for the season. Furthermore, he managed just a single sack and eight pressures despite being sent on the blitz a massive 198 times by Williams last year.

The Saints went on a major linebacker shopping spree this offseason, bringing in three of them during free agency. Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne figure to slot straight in as starters, but the third, Chris Chamberlain has a battle on his hands to topple Shanle from his spot on the depth chart. In truth, Chamberlain looks made for the two-down role in that defense. He scored well (+4.7) last season against the run, but struggled in coverage the 34 times he was targetted. Lofton and Hawthorne are both capable of playing on all three downs, so Chamberlain would be a logical upgrade against the run who would be pulled from the field when the Saints go to nickel packages.

The Verdict: For some reason the Saints donít seem to be willing or able to sit Shanle down. Maybe heís a great team guy, and a fantastic presence in practice and meeting rooms, but he just doesnít play well enough to keep his job. Chamberlain earned a spot with his play last season and if this comes down to merit on the field and nothing else, the job should be his to lose."

Shanle should not be starting for any team based on every scouting analysis I have seen. He does nothing well, gets blocked out of most plays and is to slow to make tackles in the backfield. Shanle is a liability on the field 'team guy or not'.

with as much as vilma has meant to the team his productivity has dropped each of the last three years. we needed to bring a little youth to the linebackers. while were at it we need to add a decent pass rusher on the line too. i like smith as much as anyone but rarely does he pressure the qb.

Shanle should not be starting for any team based on every scouting analysis I have seen. He does nothing well, gets blocked out of most plays and is to slow to make tackles in the backfield. Shanle is a liability on the field 'team guy or not'.

This is the first year in a long time that the Saints have put an effort into improving their Linebackers. And even after acquiring 3 linebackers through free agency there is still a chance that Shanle will be the starter.

This is the first year in a long time that the Saints have put an effort into improving their Linebackers. And even after acquiring 3 linebackers through free agency there is still a chance that Shanle will be the starter.

Go figure.

It was a good sign that Shanle was playing with the 2nd and 3rd team. If he's not cut hopefully he will get a demotion

It was a good sign that Shanle was playing with the 2nd and 3rd team. If he's not cut hopefully he will get a demotion

I may be in the minority but I hope Shanle does not get cut from the team. I do hope the Saints can get a linebacker that can push him out of the starting spot, and therefore the majority of defensive snaps, but I believe he'd be one of the better back ups in the league.